Ornellaia, Tenuta dell'Ornellaia 2014

Tasted as a preview sample, the 2014 Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia shows a level of sophistication and generosity that, frankly speaking, I did not expect from this vintage. This wine far exceeds my expectations and merits special attention. This vintage of Ornellaia offers unique assets that you don't often see in past editions. There's a level of sharpness and brightness that is linked to the wine's balanced acidity and its overall prominence. That freshness is more immediate against the streamlined nature of the background fruit and overall extraction. Rather than presenting itself as a horizontal wine (with so much complexity that hits you at once), this vintage reveals a delicately vertical approach in which each unique perfume is presented in slow succession. The good news is that the wine will definitely flesh out before its commercial release next spring.